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Pieliminaiy Byuiogeological Assessment of

}ackman Lanufill, Langley, BC


!usLln Chouhan uebby eng
8yan oon and !onaLhan valerlo
MarLln MacLeod


able of Content
nLroducLlon 3
uescrlpLlon of ConLamlnanL 6
oLenLlal mpacLs 7
roposed deLalled nvesLlgaLlon 8
roposed 8emedlaLlon 9

Appendlces
Ceologlcal CrossSecLlon A
llowneL 8
1opographlc vlew (Coogle LarLh) C
lan vlew (130000 Scale) u
roposed lezomeLer LocaLlon L
Well 8ecords l
ntiouuction
1he !ackman Landflll locaLed on Lhe corner of 8 Avenue and 272nd SLreeL ln Langley 8C ls a
former gravel plL LhaL was commlssloned as a munlclpal landflll slLe ln Lhe 1970's durlng whlch half a
mllllon Lonnes of wasLe were burled 8ecenLly Lhe landflll slLe recelved lncreased publlc aLLenLlon as
Cv8u (now MeLro vancouver) conducLed a slLe resLoraLlon pro[ecL LhaL uLlllzed Lhe meLhane gas by
Lhe landflll Lo generaLe heaL and CC
2
Lo an ad[acenL greenhouse 1he pro[ecL won an envlronmenLal
award ln 1996 from Lhe AssoclaLlon of rofesslonal Lnglneers and CeosclenLlsLs of 8C (Langley Advance
2008)
Slnce Lhe !ackman Landflll reLlred ln Lhe laLe 1980's Lhe Lownshlp of Langley has lmplemenLed
prevenLaLlve measure by capplng Lhe slLe wlLh clay Lo avold meLhane gas leakage and poLenLlal surface
runoffs Powever slnce Lhe garbage wasLe was dumped lnLo a gravel plL our concern as publlc healLh
lnspecLors ls of posslblllLy of conLamlnaLlon from Lhe landflll enLerlng Lhe groundwaLer below
LeachaLe such as Loxlc nlLraLes ammonla solvenLs C8s and heavy meLals from landfllls may reach Lhe
unconflned aqulfer (llgure 1) and polluLe Lhe source for drlnklng waLer for Lhe prlvaLe wells of many
resldenLs ln Lhe reglon






llgure 1 ApproxlmaLe 8oundary of Langley's Ma[or Aqulfers
Potential Bealth mpacts
Landflll leachaLe ls Lhe llquld LhaL resulL from waLer percolaLlng Lhrough wasLe whlch collecLs
harmful subsLances such as a varleLy of organlcs ammonla arsenlc and Loxlc meLal compounds(Sabahl
L A eL al 2009) AlLhough ln our case Lhe !ackman Landflll ls sealed off from ralnwaLer fllLraLlon (Lhe
mosL common source of landflll leachaLe) Lhe leachaLe llquld may also resulLed from maLerlals already
presenL ln Lhe landflll CroundwaLer may become conLamlnaLed by leachaLe as lL dralns Lhrough wasLes
and lnLo Lhe unconflned aqulfers
Slnce leachaLe ls soluble ln waLer lL produces a plume LhaL beglns aL Lhe source of Lhe
conLamlnaLlon (below Lhe landflll) and spreads ln Lhe aqulfer 1hls conLamlnaLlon plume has Lhe
poLenLlal Lo reach any of Lhe prlvaLe wells Lhrough Lhe groundwaLer ln Lhe AbboLsford unconflned
Aqulfer and conLamlnaLe drlnklng waLer
Cne poLenLlal subsLance LhaL may be presenL ln Lhe leachaLe Lo conLamlnaLe ground waLer ls
arsenlc Arsenlc a Loxlc heavy meLal ls presenL ln ChromaLed copper arsenaLe (CCA) a wood
preservaLlve used for Llmber LreaLmenL slnce Lhe mld1930s (PealLh Canada 2009) Canada dld noL
banned CCA use unLll 2003 Lherefore many older pressure LreaLed wood producLs conLalnlng CCA
may be presenL ln Lhe !ackman landflll Arsenlc could also enLer lnLo groundwaLer from Lhe landflll slLe
Lhrough agrlculLure especlally pesLlclde and mlnlng wasLes Lhough lL could also be naLurally occurrlng
(PealLh Canada 2006) 1he Culdellnes for Canadlan urlnk WaLer (2010) has a maxlmum allowable
concenLraLlon of 0010 ppm arsenlc ln drlnklng waLer Arsenlc polsonlng occurs when arsenlc ls
lngesLed L ls Lhen absorbed by Lhe body and accumulaLed over Llme ConsumpLlon of hlgh levels of
arsenlc lncrease Lhe rlsk of cancer ln Lhe lnLernal organs decrease blood cell producLlon cause
abnormal hearL rhyLhm and blood vessel damage (PealLh Canada 2006)
AlLhough Lhere are a varleLy of Loxlc subsLances ln leachaLe from Lhe landflll Lhe exacL
chemlcals and Lhelr concenLraLlons are dlfflculL Lo predlcL due Lo unknown records of whaL exacLly has
been dumped as wasLe 1esLlng Lhe drlnklng waLer from Lhe well for arsenlc and ammonla would be a
sufflclenL lndlcaLor of leachaLe conLamlnaLlon for reasons of Lhelr healLh slgnlflcance and Lhe
characLerlsLlcs of garbage wasLe
LhoughL Lhere was a scenarlo abouL well of buslness owner eLc eLc Lo Lalk abouL














Byuiogeological nvestigation
WlLh Lhe prellmlnary groundwaLer flow deLermlned a deLalled hydrogeologlcal lnvesLlgaLlon can be
carrled ouL We propose Lhe follow assessmenL plan
1 ueLermlne verLlcal exLenL of conLamlnaLlon by lnsLalllng plezomeLers nesL wlLh verLlcal
dlfference of 23 m unLll we no longer deLecL conLamlnanL or unLll we reach a conflnlng layer
1ake waLer samples for laboraLory LesLlng for arsenlc and oLher speclflc conLamlnaLlon of
lnLeresLed
2 nsLall a plezomeLer 30 m up gradlenL of Lhe landflll Lo deLermlne Lhe background
concenLraLlon of Lhe conLamlnanL
3 As Lhe !ackman landflll ls a polnL source conLamlnaLlon we wlll also lnsLall llnes plezomeLers
wlLhln and ouLslde of Lhe conLamlnanL plume Lo deLermlne Lhe laLeral exLenL of Lhe
conLamlnaLlon We wlll lnsLall a mlnlmum of 3 plezomeLers lefL of plume cenLer of plume and
rlghL of plume We wlll Lake waLer samples from Lhese plezomenLers for laboraLory LesLlng for
arsenlc
1he calculaLed groundwaLer flow raLe ls 0073km/hr As Lhe !ackman Landflll has been esLabllshed
slnce Lhe early 70's Lhe exLenL of Lhe conLamlnaLlon would be 292km down gradlenL We wlll lnsLall
plezomeLers every 300 m unLll we do noL deLecL any conLamlnanL n Lheory we would lnsLall slx rows
of 3 plezomeLers near Lhe conLamlnaLlon slLe n LoLal we wlll lnsLall a mlnlmum of 19 plezomeLers for
deLermlnlng laLeral exLenL of conLamlnaLlon Also ln Lheory we wlll lnsLall Lhree verLlcal plezomeLers
down Lo a depLh of 30m for our plezomeLer nesL assumlng Lhere ls a clay layer aL around 30m as
lndlcaLed ln our geologlcal cross secLlon
WlLh Lhe exLenslve neLs of plezomeLers we can also accuraLely calculaLe Lhe acLual groundwaLer
flow raLe flow dlrecLlons and amounL of conLamlnaLlon ln Lhe aqulfer

emeuiation
Arsenlc ls a harmful conLamlnaLe and ls a posslble source of conLamlnaLlon ln groundwaLer uue Lo lLs harmful
effecLs arsenlc ls a healLh hazard and ls a slgnlflcanL rlsk Lo Lhe publlc L ls due Lo Lhls rlsk LhaL Lhere are varlous
meLhods of remedlaLlon
Cne meLhod of remedlaLlng arsenlc from Lhe soll ls Lhrough LlecLroklneLlc LreaLmenL 1hls LreaLmenL a new and
emerglng Lechnology 1he advanLages lnclude lL noL only removlng heavy meLals such as arsenlc from Lhe soll
buL also Lhe groundwaLer 1hls process lnvolves a currenL belng pass Lhrough an elecLrode whlch wlll ulLlmaLely
causes Lhe conLamlnaLe Lo arrlve aL Lhe elecLrode where lL can Lhen be removed Lhrough pumplng waLer
adsorpLlon or elecLroplaLlng Soll wlLh small parLlcle slze such as clay ls noLed Lo be Lhe mosL effecLlve for Lhls
LreaLmenL (unlLed SLaLes LnvlronmenLal roLecLlon Agency)
AnoLher emerglng remedlaLlon lncludes hyLoremedlaLlon 1hls meLhod ls deslgned Lo use planLs such as
coLLonwood and poplar Lo degrade conLaln or lmmoblllze Lhe conLamlnanL ln Lhe soll lurLhermore Lhls
process ls mosL effecLlve only Lo shallow soll A dlsadvanLage Lo Lhls meLhod ls LhaL Lhe planLs used Lo ald ln Lhe
process may accumulaLe hlgh levels of arsenlc and Lhey Loo may need addlLlonal LreaLmenL (unlLed SLaLes
LnvlronmenLal roLecLlon Agency)
8lologlcal LreaLmenL for arsenlc ls anoLher popular meLhod of remedlaLlon and ls our preferred meLhod 1hls
meLhod ls based on Lhe ldea LhaL mlcroorganlsms cause arsenlc Lo elLher preclplLaLe or copreclplLaLe from Lhe
soll 1he removal process ls done Lhrough accerlaLlng bloleachlng" 1he mlcrobes used sulfaLereduclng
bacLerla and arsenlcreduclng bacLerla produce nlLrlc sulfurlc and organlc aclds LhaL moblllze and geL rld of
arsenlc from Lhe soll We preferred Lhls meLhod as lL does noL conLamlnaLe oLher planLs and has been used
wldely (unlLed SLaLes LnvlronmenLal roLecLlon Agency)
Conclusion
n Lhls lnvesLlgaLlon as publlc healLh lnspecLors or maln concern was LhaL arsenlc from a gravel plL
conslsLlng of garbage wasLe was conLamlnaLlng Lhe groundwaLer and furLher conLamlnaLlng drlnklng
waLer supply 1hrough our lnvesLlgaLlon we found LhaL arsenlc does or does not have a posslblllLy of
conLamlnaLlng Lhe AbboLsford unconflrmed Aqulfer" We also deLermlned LhaL our preferred meLhod
of remedlaLlon was Lhrough blologlcal LreaLmenL
(Ior the conc|us|on I am not sure what the outcome of the |nvest|gat|on was |e was |t poss|b|e for the arsen|c
to contam|nate the Abbotsford unconf|ned aqu|fer from the f|ownet what was the d|rect|on of f|ow and d|d
the f|ow show the contam|nate cou|d eventua||y contam|nate the aqu|fer and how |ong wou|d |t take |n years?
So th|s |s why |ts on|y that |ong s|nce |m not sure what the outcome was aga|n So |f you guys can send me
that |nformat|on ||| add |t |n thanksLet me know what you th|nk of the remed|at|on and conc|us|on so far)

lor Lhe conLamlnaLlon we would suggesL LhaL lL would Lravel norLhwesL 1hls place sLarLed ln 1970's so Lhere ls
40 years of conLamlnaLlon 1he plume conLamlnaLed up Lo 3km down gradlenL of Lhe source We would also
say lL affecLed Lhe unconflned aqulfer Lherefore Lhe deLalled lnvesLlgaLlon should be carrled ouL and nearby
drlnklng wells ln unconflned aqulfer should be LesLed Also we should [usL puL ln whaL MarLln sald abouL LhaL
wall [usL up gradlenL of Lhe landflll Lo sLop groundwaLer flowlng Lhrough Lhe landflll 1herefore lL slows Lhe flow
of Lhe leachaLe Lhlnk LhaL would saLlsfy hlm




efeience
Arsenlc 1reaLmenL 1echnologles for Soll WasLe and WaLer unlLed SLaLes LnvlronmenLal roLecLlon Agency
2002 hLLp//wwwclulnorg/download/remed/342r02004/arsenlc_reporLpdf
8C WaLer 8esource ALlas (W88C) MlnlsLry of LnvlronmenL WaLer SLewardshlp ulvlslon
hLLp//wwwenvgovbcca/wsd/daLa_searches/wrbc/lndexhLml

ChromaLed Copper ArsenaLe (CCA) 1reaLed Wood PealLh Canada 2009 hLLp//wwwhcscgcca/cps
spc/pubs/pesL/_facLflche/ccaacc/lndexengphp Accessed 20101128
Culdellnes for Canadlan urlnklng WaLer PealLh Canada 2010 hLLp//wwwhcscgcca/ewh
semL/pubs/waLereau/sum_gulderes_recom/chemlcalchlmlquesengphp#Lbl4 Accessed 20101128
PealLh Canada 2006 Arsenlc n ?our urlnklng WaLer hLLp//wwwhcscgcca/hlvs/alL_formaLs/pacrb
dgapcr/pdf/lyhvsv/envlron/arsenlcengpdf

Langley Advance 2008 Aldergroves awardwlnnlng dump creaLes power WebslLe
hLLp//wwwcanadacom/langleyadvance/news/sLoryhLml?ld37d26149a4084f789fcc
4ab6b39fa216

Sabahl L A eL al 2009 1he CharacLerlsLlcs of LeachaLe and CroundwaLer olluLlon aL Munlclpal Solld
WasLe Landflll of bb ClLy ?emen Amerlcan !ournal of LnvlronmenLal Sclences 3 (3) 236266 2009
SSn 1333343x 2009 Sclence ubllcaLlons hLLp//wwwsclpuborg/fullLexL/a[es/a[es33236266pdf

1ownshlp of Langley 2009 Langleys CroundwaLer Supply
hLLp//wwwLolca/lndexphp?opLloncom_conLenLvlewarLlcleld1064Lemld902

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